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The Exterior Sculptures of Christ Church Cranbrook

To view all of the exterior sculptures at Christ Church Cranbrook,
please click here. (Booklet will open in a new window.)

Starting in the Columbarium on the North Side of the Church

As you stand on the north side of the church, you will be in the Columbarium, a sacred garden where the ashes of members of Christ Church Cranbrook are laid to rest.

Belfry

You will notice a Belfry that is surmounted by a cross and the figures of Mary, the Mother of our Lord, and John, the Beloved Disciple. These figures were modeled by Ulric Ellerhausen and received the gold medal for sculpture at the 1929 exhibition of the Architectural League of New York. The bronze bell bears the inscription, “Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep,” (Romans 12:15) and was cast by the Taylor Bell Foundry, Loughborough, Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, in the United Kingdom.

The subjects on the tops of the buttresses on either side of the church were chosen for their part in seeking or spreading the truth as admonished by Jesus and inscribed over the main portal of the church. These figures were created by Lee Lawrie and Ulric Ellerhausen

Dawn Men Atop the Buttresses Starting on the North Side of the Church and Viewing From Left to Right

John Wycliffe (English, 1320-1384), political and religious reformer and biblical translator.

William Tyndale (English, 1492-1536) translator of the New Testament and Pentateuch, a martyr for the spread of knowledge.

Thomas Cranmer (English, 1489-1556) Archbishop of Canterbury, father of the Reformation in England, and author of the first Book of Common Prayer (1549) from which all subsequent prayer books of the Anglican Communion, including The Episcopal Church, derive. He was burned at the stake during Queen Mary’s Catholic Restoration.

Charles David Williams (American, 1860-1925) Fourth Bishop of Michigan, prophet, and preacher of the social gospel.

Religious Leaders On Either Side of the Window in the West Façade and Viewing Left to Right

The Right Reverend Herman Page, D.D. (1866-1942) Fifth Bishop of Michigan, who presided at the consecration of Christ Church Cranbrook.

The Very Reverend Samuel S. Marquis, D.D. (1866-1948) First Rector of Christ Church Cranbrook.

Also, the shields include devices used by the Founders’ families, plus the arms of the State of Michigan and the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. The inscription reads, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Dawn Men Atop the Buttresses On the South Side of the Church and Viewing From Left to Right